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History of Europe, 1000 to 1800

This course will introduce you to the history of Europe from the medieval period to the Age of Revolutions in the eighteenth century. You will learn about the major political, economic, and social changes that took place in Europe during this 800-year period. The course will be structured chronologically. Each unit will include representative primary-source documents that illustrate important overarching political, economic, and social themes, such as the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, European expansion overseas, and the French Revolution. By the end of the course, you will understand how Europe had transformed from a fragmented and volatile network of medieval polities into a series of independent nation-states by 1800.

Primary Resources: This course is comprised of a range of different, free online resources. However, the course makes primary use of the following materials:

This course contains articles by a variety of authors as part of The Gilder Lehrman Institute’s History Now. Editor of the online publication, Carol Berkin, is Presidential Distinguished Professor of History at Baruch College (CUNY). Applied History Research Group provides several tutorials on European history and exploration. Note that Dr. Kreis’s online text was developed by Dr. Steven Kreis as an open educational resource for use in undergraduate history courses. Dr. Steven Kreis teaches history at American Public University.

Requirements for Completion: In order to complete this course, you will need to work through each unit and all of its assigned materials. After working through each unit of the course, students must take the Final Exam. Note that you will only receive an official grade on your final exam. However, in order to adequately prepare for this exam, you will need to work through the materials for each unit.

In order to “pass” this course, you will need to earn a 70% or higher on the Final Exam. Your score on the exam will be tabulated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam, you may take it again.

Time Commitment:This course will take you about 90.25 hours to complete. Each unit includes a “time advisory” that lists the amount of time you are expected to spend on each subunit. These should help you plan your time accordingly. It may be useful to take a look at these time advisories and to determine how much time you have over the next few weeks to complete each unit, and then to set goals for yourself. For example, Unit 1 should take you 9 hours. Perhaps you can sit down with your calendar and decide to complete subunit 1.1 (a total of 3 hours) over the course of Monday through Wednesday; subunit 1.2 onThursday; etc.

Tips/Suggestions: Pay careful attention to major names and events in each reading and/or lecture. Taking detailed notes as you work through the materials in each unit and remembering these terms will help you prepare for the Final Exam.

This course features a number of Khan Academy™ videos. Khan Academy™ has a library of over 3,000 videos covering a range of topics (math, physics, chemistry, finance, history and more), plus over 300 practice exercises. All Khan Academy™ materials are available for free at www.khanacademy.org.

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

Think critically and analytically about European history in the medieval and early modern eras.

Identify and describe the religious, intellectual, social, and political components of the European Middle Ages.

Identify the origins and characteristics of the Italian and Northern European Renaissance, as well as describe new developments in art, philosophy, religion, architecture, and science during the era of “rebirth.”

Identify and describe the causes and effects of the European Age of Discovery. Students will also be able to analyze the impact of overseas expansion on European monarchies, the world economy, and indigenous peoples.

Describe and analyze the Protestant Reformation. Students will be able to identify the origins of the movement, the various inflections of the Reformation across Europe, and the Catholic Counter Reformation.

Identify the era of religious warfare that plagued Europe after the Protestant Reformation. Students will analyze causes and effects of the religious conflicts that erupted in France, England, the Netherlands, and the Holy Roman Empire.

Identify and explain why and how “absolute” monarchs gained power in western Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Students will also be able to identify and describe why two nations—England and the Netherlands—embraced constitutionalism rather than absolutism.

Assess how and why absolutism characterized the monarchies of Prussia and Austria in the 1600s. Students will also be able to identify and describe the development of Russia and the reign of Peter the Great.

Identify the origins and characteristics of the Scientific Revolution, as well as describe its impact on European civilization as a whole.

Identify the origins of the European Enlightenment and assess how this movement altered the social, political, and religious fabric of Europe.

Identify and describe the social and economic changes that swept across Europe during the eighteenth century. Students will be able to assess the origin and impact of the “agricultural revolution,” the marked increase in Europe’s population, the development of “cottage industries,” the rise of the Atlantic economy, and the changes in domestic and religious practices.

Identify and describe the origins and impact of the French Revolution. Students will also be able to analyze the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Analyze and interpret primary source documents from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century, using historical research methods.

By the tenth century, Germanic monarchs had established and consolidated kingdoms across Europe. The Catholic Church also extended its power during this period; church reforms and the threat of Islamic expansion renewed the Church’s authority in European politics and society. The Crusades—a series of religious wars launched by the Holy Roman Empire to restore Christian control of the Holy Land—which began in 1096, were the most conspicuous sign of the rise and expansion of Christian Europe.

But by the fourteenth century, warfare, the arrival of the bubonic plague, and conflicts within the Catholic Church laid the foundation for the eventual collapse of medieval society. In this unit, we will see how the consolidated power of the Church and various monarchies during the High Middle Ages gave way to deep religious and political divisions within Europe by 1300.

Note on the Text: Lecture 15 will discuss the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, who established himself as dictator of France in 1799.
This online text was developed by Dr. Steven Kreis as an open educational resource for use in undergraduate history courses. Dr. Steven Kreis teaches history at American Public University. The second reading, “The Era of Napoleon Bonaparte” will give you a sense of Napoleon’s reign and his conquest of Europe.

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Instructions: Please read the entire webpage linked here. This reading will help give you a sense of the major developments of the 1100s—the dissemination of knowledge and the emergence of universities.

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Instructions: Please read this entire webpage, which describes the onset of the bubonic plague in Italy. A merchant ship returning to Italy from the Crimea in 1347 carried a deadly disease that would devastate Europe—the bubonic plague. The plague reduced the European population by one third by 1400. In this text, Boccaccio describes the social and psychological effects of the plague in Florence, Italy.

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Instructions: Please read the entire lecture on this webpage. This lecture will provide you with a sense of the economic and cultural impact of the Black Death as well as the outbreak of the Hundred Years’ War.

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Instructions: Please read the entire lecture and review the maps on the webpage. This reading gives a good overview of a war that encapsulated medieval England and France.

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Unit 2: Renaissance

In Italy during the late Middle Ages, the contours of a new cultural movement—the Renaissance—began to emerge in urban centers such as Rome, Venice, Florence, and Milan. Meaning “rebirth” in French, “the Renaissance” refers to a revival of classical Greek and Roman sources, an emphasis on realism in art, and educational reform. Renaissance thinkers emphasized humanism—a moral philosophy that considers humans to be of primary importance—in art, philosophy, politics, science, and religion. This new interest in humanism represented a drastic shift away from the focus on the divine that had dominated medieval European thought for centuries. By the sixteenth century, Renaissance culture had spread to other regions of Europe.
In this unit, we will study the profound impact that Renaissance ideas had on European society, religion, and politics. We will also compare and contrast the Italian Renaissance with Renaissances in other parts of Europe.

The first reading will help you to better understand one of the defining characteristics of Renaissance thought—humanism. Humanism emphasized the centrality of human beings—rather than God—in the world.

Known as the “Father of Humanism,” Petrarch’s poetry revolutionized literature during the early Renaissance period. He invented the Petrarchan sonnet—a 14-line poem about unattainable love with a set rhyme scheme of abba abba cdc dcd. In this text, Petrarch writes about his unrequited love for a woman known only as “Laura.”

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Instructions: First, please read the background on Machiavelli on the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy webpage linked here. Then, read chapters I, XIV, XV, XVII, and XIX of The Prince, paying special attention to the manner in which Machiavelli separates ethics from political pragmatism. To access each chapter, click on the hyperlink for each chapter in the “Table of Contents” and/or then use the “Next Chapter” link on each webpage to move through the text.

This political treatise was written by Niccolò Machiavelli, a Florentine political theorist, in the sixteenth century. In an era of constant conflict among Italian city-states, Machiavelli asserts that the greatest moral good is a virtuous and stable state. Even if actions taken to preserve the state are immoral, Machiavelli argues, they remain justified. The text, with its “end justifies the means” pragmatism, had a deep impact on Western philosophy.

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Instructions: Please read the entirety of the chapter linked above. This reading describes the artistic innovation that emerged in northern Europe, particularly in Germany and the Low Countries. This information is hosted on the Virtual Library's CARRIE website, originally developed by Lynn H. Nelson, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Kansas.

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Instructions: Please read the entirety of the chapter linked above. This chapter provides information on how the ideas of the Renaissance were modified differently in the northern European countries. This information is hosted on the Virtual Library's CARRIE website, originally developed by Lynn H. Nelson, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Kansas.

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Unit 3: The European Age of Discovery

The Renaissance set the stage for European state consolidation and expansion overseas between 1450 and 1650. In the fifteenth century, powerful monarchs launched the first stage of global imperialism. New developments in maritime technology and a desire to expand the influence of Christianity motivated European rulers to sponsor exploration and conquest in the New World. In this unit, we will see how the creation of new commercial and political networks caused profound change: they introduced new peoples, ideas, and cultures to Europeans, while also wreaking havoc on indigenous cultures of the New World.

Instructions: Please read “European Voyages of Exploration: Christopher Columbus and the Spanish Empire”This reading will help you to understand the impact of Columbus’s voyage to what he thought was the East Indies, but turned out to be the Americas.

Instuctions: Please read “The European Voyages of Exploration: The Caribbean: First Contact.” This reading will provide you with an understanding of the origins and impact of Spanish exploration and colonization in the Caribbean.

Instructions: Read this article, which will provide you with a sense of the circumnavigation of the globe by the Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan. This article is written by famous historian and biographer, Laurence Bergreen, who has published several award-winning books.

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Instructions: Please read Palfrey’s article in its entirety. Then, please read the Preface and Chapter VIII of the Diaz del Castillo selection, paying special attention to Diaz del Castillo’s perceptions and observations of the Aztec Empire. You may view this text online, or you may choose to download the PDF version, by clicking on the links on the left side of the page.

The first reading will discuss Spanish conquistadores’ defeat of the Aztec Empire. This second text is an account, written around 1568, which describes the invasion of Mexico by Don Hernando Cortes and his 600 Spanish conquistadors in 1519. Despite their advanced society, the Aztecs were no match for European disease and warfare; three years later, in 1521, the Aztec capital surrendered to Cortes. Written from the perspective of the European conquerors, this document is one of only a few texts that elucidate the collision of Spanish and Aztec cultures in the New World.

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Instructions: Please read the entire webpage linked above. This reading provides an overview of Pizarro’s victory over the Incas in Peru. This website contains electronic texts of previous publications printed by the Library of Congress and sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Army from 1986-1998.

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Instructions: Please read the entire article linked above. This reading will give you a sense of the role and influence of Holland’s New World colony, New Netherland. The author of this text, Simon Middleton, lectures at the University of Sheffield.

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Instructions: Please read the entire article linked above. This reading addresses the significance of the Jamestown settlement as well as its historical context. The author of this text, James Horn, is the Vice President of Research at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

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Instructions: Please view this excellent online exhibition of New France, which combines historical context with relevant primary sources. To do this, please click on each of the following 12 section headings: “Departure,” “Navigation,” “Discovery,” “Encounter,” “Settlement,” “Foundation,” “Daily Life,” “Administration,” “Trade,” “Worship,” “Warfare,” and “Survival.” Then, read the broad overview and click on each of the links listed beneath it.

This online exhibition was developed jointly by the Direction des Archives de France, Library and Archives Canada, and the Canadian Embassy in Paris to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of New France.

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Instructions: Please read both of Rex A. Hudson’s articles in their entirety. The first reading will help you to learn about Portugal’s early exploration of Brazil. The second will give you a sense of early contact between indigenous peoples and the Portuguese settlers. This website contains electronic texts of previous publications printed by the Library of Congress and sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Army from 1986-1998.

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Instructions: Please read the entire article linked above. This reading discusses Native Americans’ perceptions of and reactions to European settlers and explorers. The author of this text, Daniel Richter, teaches history at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Instructions: Please read the entire article linked above. This reading will provide you with a sense of what happened, ecologically speaking, when Old World met New World. The author of this article, Alfred Crosby, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas, Austin.

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Instructions: Please read the brief intro to trade products, and then click on each of the links on the webpage to learn more about specific trade products. Read each linked webpage in its entirety.

Each of these short articles by various authors offers an excellent overview of specific trade goods that became centrally important in linking Europe to the Americas, Asia, and the Far East. Goods, such as brazilwood, cod, tobacco, and tea, became valuable trading products that rapidly transformed the world economy.

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Unit 4: The Era of Reformation

The Protestant Reformation began in 1517, when a little-known German priest, Martin Luther, nailed his ninety-five theses protesting the sale of indulgences—the full or partial remission of punishment for sins—to a church door. The weaknesses of the Catholic Church during the late Middle Ages, including corrupt popes, schisms, and unresolved doctrinal issues, made Europeans receptive to Luther’s protests and calls for reform. Although the Reformation began in Germany, it spread throughout Europe during the sixteenth century. Protestant reformers, such as John Calvin, substituted their own scriptural beliefs for those held in Rome. The Catholic Church, however, launched a powerful Counter-Reformation by calling a major church council at Trent and by encouraging the formation of new Catholic religious orders.

In this unit, we will see how the religious upheaval of the Reformation caused fundamental changes in European society, including religious life, marriage, education, and the status of women.

Instructions: Scroll down to lecture 6 “Martin Luther,” and select “View in iTunes.” Once redirected to iTunes, click on play for lecture 6, and listen to the entire discussion on who Martin Luther was and how he led the movement to reform the Catholic Church (run time 58:20 minutes).

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Instructions: Please read the entirety of the chapter linked above. This chapter will help give you a sense of the tremendous influence of John Calvin’s beliefs in Geneva, Switzerland during the Reformation.

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Instructions: Please read Gilbert’s “Chapter 19” in its entirety. “Chapter 19” will give you a sense of why the Catholic Church tried to reform itself during the sixteenth century. Then, read Dr. Kreis’s entire lecture, which outlines the contours of the Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation. These readings cover the topics outlined in subunits 4.2.1 and 4.2.2.

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4.2.2 New Religious Orders

Note: This topic is covered by the readings beneath sub-subunit 4.2.1.

Unit 5: The Age of Religious Wars, 1546-1648

From Martin Luther’s death in 1546 to the middle of the seventeenth century, religiously- and politically-inspired violence dominated Europe. France endured nearly fifty years of civil war and strife—mainly due to conflicts between Calvinists and Catholics. Catholic Spain struggled against Protestant England and the Netherlands. The Thirty Years’ War, a conflict between Catholics and Protestants within the Holy Roman Empire, devastated central Europe. In this unit, we will see how the religious conflicts unleashed by the Reformation caused war, devastation, and political divisions throughout Europe.

Instructions: Please read Dr. Kreis’s whole lecture linked above. Then, read the “European Wars” timeline in its entirety. The first reading offers a broad overview of the religious, military, and economic upheavals that characterized Europe in the decades following the Protestant Revolution. The second reading, “European Wars,” outlines the major events of the post-Reformation period—the French wars of religion, the Dutch revolt, the Spanish Armada, and the Thirty Years’ War.

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Instructions: Please read both of the Le Poulet Gauche webpages linked above. Then, read the excerpt “The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day” in its entirety. “The Wars of Religion” discusses the political, religious, and military components of the civil wars that erupted in France between Huguenots and Catholics. Described by the historian De Thou, the massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day was a series of assassinations followed by mob violence unleashed by the Roman Catholics against the Protestant Huguenots in 1572. De Thou’s account illustrates the gruesome nature of the French Wars of Religion, which involved the monarchy, the aristocracy, and the common people.

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Instructions: Please read the entire encyclopedia entry linked above. Then, read the Queen Elizabeth I speech on Fordham University’s website. The encyclopedia entry provides an overview of the Spanish Armada of 1588—a naval contest between England and Spain. The second reading will give you a sense of the principles at stake in the conflict between Protestant England and Catholic Spain that came erupted during the Spanish Armada. In this speech, Queen Elizabeth I of England tries to rouse support among her troops for an ensuing naval battle against Catholic Spain.

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Instructions: Please read the entire article linked above. Make sure to click on the “Continue to Mary Biography Part 2” link at the bottom of the webpage to read both pages of the article. This reading describes the religious turmoil that plagued England and Scotland in the post-Reformation era.

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Dr. Kreis’s lecture discusses how European philosophers and thinkers, such as René Descartes, John Locke, and Thomas Hobbes began to view man’s role in the world differently as a result of European religious conflicts and exploration abroad.

Montaigne examines the world through the lens of his own judgment in this series of essays, a literary genre that he popularized in the sixteenth century. His goal in these essays is to describe man—and himself— with utter frankness. “Of the Caniballes” will give you a sense of how overseas exploration influenced Montaigne’s criticism of European society, while “Liberty of Conscience” will give you a sense of how the French religious wars influenced Montaigne’s view of Christianity. In Montaigne’s Essays, the French writer Michel de Montaigne adopts a skeptical tone when depicting Renaissance society.

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Unit 6: Absolutism and Constitutionalism in Western Europe

In the wake of the religious wars of the seventeenth century, monarchs in western Europe attempted to consolidate and increase their power. Many sought to fashion themselves as “absolute” monarchs—sole leaders whose power exceeded that of the people, the government, and/or the Church. However, these efforts were met with varied results. In France, Louis XIV (known as the “Sun King”) successfully established himself as an absolutist ruler. But the Netherlands, on the other hand, expulsed Catholic absolutist Spain in 1572 and created a Dutch Republic that supported religious toleration and republican government. In England, a constitutional crisis centered on the question of whether sovereignty was vested in the king or Parliament resulted in the beheading of Charles I, a civil war, and the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
In this unit, we will examine why absolutism was successfully implemented in France and why it was challenged or defeated in the Dutch Republic and in England.

Instructions: Please watch the entire 45-minute video lecture linked above. This video will help you to understand that absolutism emerged in Europe as a result of the protracted religious conflicts of the late 1500s and early 1600s.

Instructions: Please read both articles about the Age of Absolutism in their entirety. Professor Baldwin’s reading on the “Age of Absolutism” will give you a sense of the origins of “absolute” monarchy in Europe. Professor Page’s webpage provides an overview of the emergence of absolute monarchies in western Europe during the early modern period.

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The Saylor Foundation does not yet have materials for this portion of the course. If you are interested in contributing your content to fill this gap or aware of a resource that could be used here, please submit it here.

Instructions: Please read the entire Library of Congress webpage, and click on the images. Then, please read all of “Absolutism and the Divine Right of Kings” linked above.

The images in “The Path to Royal Absolutism” will help illustrate the consolidation of power of the French monarchy in the 1600s. The second reading will give you a sense of the Jacques-Benigne Bossuet’s theory that monarchs were chosen by, and acted according to, God.

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Instructions: Please read the entire webpage linked above. This reading will provide a good overview of the reign of Louis XIV, the “Sun King.”

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The Saylor Foundation does not yet have materials for this portion of the course. If you are interested in contributing your content to fill this gap or aware of a resource that could be used here, please submit it here.

Instructions: Please read the entire article, which discusses how constitutionalism—defined as the limitation of government through the rule of law—was embraced in England. This reading covers the topics outlined in sub-subunits 6.2.1-6.2.3.

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Instructions: Please read the entire lecture linked above. This reading discusses the origins of the English civil war, the abolition of the English monarchy, and the inauguration of the English republic.

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Instructions: Please read the entire webpage linked above. This reading will give you a sense of the “Puritan Revolution” and the English republic headed by Oliver Cromwell.

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The Saylor Foundation does not yet have materials for this portion of the course. If you are interested in contributing your content to fill this gap or aware of a resource that could be used here, please submit it here.

Instructions: Please read both articles titled “The Glorious Revolution” linked above. The BBC reading, “The Glorious Revolution,” offers a good overview of the causes and effects of a revolution that established England as a constitutional monarchy. Finally, Steve Muhlberger’s reading offers a good overview of the revolution of 1688, while also clearly articulating the reasons for the triumph of Parliament over king.

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The first reading will give you a sense of the socio-economic landscape of the newly created Dutch Republic. George Edmundson’s “Chapter VI” discusses the political, religious, and military turmoil from which an independent Dutch Republic emerged.

The Act of Abjuration, signed into law in 1581, formally declared the Dutch Low Countries independent of Phillip II of Spain. The Dutch had endured religious persecution, war and the tyrannical rule of Catholic Spain before they finally rebelled. The Dutch Declaration of Independence (1581) asserts the Dutch’s people’s right to secede from an oppressive monarchy; it later inspired the American Declaration of Independence.

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Unit 7: Absolutism in Eastern Europe

The Thirty Years’ War left Central and Eastern Europe far less economically advanced than their counterparts in western Europe. In the wake of the war, monarchs in Prussia, Austria, and Russia attempted to centralize their authority and strengthen their respective states. The Austrian Habsburgs recognized the weaknesses of the Holy Roman Empire and began to consolidate their power outside of Germany. In Russia, Peter the Great attempted to implement political reform, forge alliances with Western Europe, and deflect attacks from the powerful Ottoman Empire. In addition, serfdom revived in Eastern Europe, giving rulers more power over land and peasants.

In this unit, we will see how absolutist rule in Prussia, Austria, and Russia united fragmented kingdoms and safeguarded them against internal division and foreign invasion.

Instructions: Please read the entire article linked above. This reading will provide you with a sense of the widespread—and oppressive—system of serfdom in Eastern Europe. The topics in sub-subunits 7.1.1-7.1.3 are covered in this reading.

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Instructions: Please read the entirety of the “Absolute Monarchy and Enlightened Absolutism” article linked above for an overview of absolutism in Austria. Then, read Steve Muhlberger’s entire article, which discusses how and why absolutist monarchs garnered power in Prussia.

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Instructions: Please watch the entire 45-minute video lecture linked here. This video lecture talks about Peter the Great’s reform initiative in Russia—military expansion, territorial expansion, as well as the introduction of Western customs and culture into Russia.

Instructions: Please read Professor Rempel’s article on the Western New England College webpage. The reading discusses Europeanization of Russia under Peter the Great.

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The Saylor Foundation does not yet have materials for this portion of the course. If you are interested in contributing your content to fill this gap or aware of a resource that could be used here, please submit it here.

The Renaissance paved the way for the emergence of a rational and secular worldview in Europe in the late 1600s. The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment represented the culmination of the shift from the medieval era to the modern world. Scientific revolutionaries overturned the authority of medieval and classical sources, such as Aristotle and Ptolemy, in an attempt to understand and explain man in the natural world according to mathematical reasoning. For example, the Polish astronomer Nicholas Copernicus asserted that we live in a heliocentric cosmos and Isaac Newton proposed a set of universal laws and claimed that we live in a mechanical universe (a cosmos governed by the same mathematical laws of gravity on Earth). Meanwhile, political philosophers of the Enlightenment emphasized reason as the primary source of legitimacy and authority. Studies examining the origin of political authority and the progress of society had a fundamental impact upon the political development of Europe.

In this unit, we will study how and why “enlightenment” manifested itself throughout Europe—in philosophy, science, art, and even in absolutist monarchies.

Instructions: Please read “The New Astronomy and Cosmology of the Scientific Revolution: Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, and Johannes Kepler.” This reading describes the classical and medieval origins of the Scientific Revolution as well as the works and theories of Copernicus, Brahe and Kepler

“Lecture 10” describes the major figures of the early Scientific Revolution. This online text was developed by Dr. Steven Kreis as an open educational resource for use in undergraduate history courses. Dr. Steven Kreis teaches history at American Public University.

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Instructions: Please watch the entire 45-minute lecture linked above. In this video lecture, Merriman argues that the Enlightenment was not simply the “age of reason,” but was also the age of the public sphere and the declining power of the monarchy.

Terms of Use: The above video is reposted from Yale University Yale Courses YouTube channel. The original version can be found here. This video is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Instructions: Please read the entire webpage linked above. This reading outlines the major characteristics of the Enlightenment and gives a broad overview of the social, religious, and cultural milieu of the period.

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Instructions: Please read Dr. Kreis’s lecture in its entirety. Finally, read the entire Modern History Sourcebook webpage linked here. Dr. Kreis’s lecture provides an overview of the Enlightenment emphasis on history and the progress of mankind. The Future Progress of the Human Mind, written by the French scientific philosopher Marquis de Condorcet, asserts that an increase in knowledge—particularly scientific knowledge—will guarantee the progress of peoples, thus ensuring the enlightenment of mankind in future time.

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Instructions: These readings cover topics outlined in sub-subunits 8.3.1 and 8.3.2. Please read the Catherine the Great article in its entirety, and then read Frederick the Great’s “Essay on Forms of Government.” The first reading provides an overview on Catherine the Great’s theories of enlightened absolutism. The second reading is Frederick the Great’s theory on what makes an enlightened monarch.

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Unit 9: Social and Economic Change in the Eighteenth Century

The end of the bubonic plague and the absence of devastating wars opened the door to significant changes in society and economy during the 1700s. Population growth skyrocketed and created an unprecedented demand for food. This in turn spurred an agricultural revolution in which land was improved and transformed into viable farmland. Meanwhile, the rise of the cottage industry—the production of goods in the home rather than in the factory—fueled the growth of manufacturing and urbanization. At the same time, European nations created an Atlantic economy that centered upon the African slave trade, New World plantation produce, and European textiles and manufactured goods.

In addition, many changes were wrought in the domestic sphere. New developments in the structure of European society and economy in the eighteenth century had a significant impact upon marriage, family, medicine, nutrition, and religious beliefs. With the rise of manufacturing, many European women began to work, and this altered patterns of marriage and childbearing. Improved diet and better medicine translated into a longer lifespan for many Europeans. Also, as nation-states became increasingly consolidated throughout Europe, the “vernacular”—the regional or national language or dialect—was increasingly emphasized in schools and churches.

In this unit, we will consider how and why European population growth, agricultural transformations, new developments in manufacturing, and the rise of an Atlantic economy were so interconnected. We will also see how manufacturing and the agricultural revolution influenced Europeans’ daily lives and belief systems.

Instructions: Please read both articles linked above in their entirety. The first reading will give you a sense of the scope and impact of the agrarian revolution in England. The second reading describes how the agricultural revolution was one of many factors setting the stage for the Industrial Revolution. These readings also cover the topic outlined in sub-subunit 9.1.2.

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Instructions: Please watch the entire 1-hour lecture by Yale biologist Robert Wyman. From watching this video lecture, you will get a sense of the reasons why Europe experienced a population explosion in the 1700s and why some political economists, such as Thomas Malthus, worried that the population might exceed the food supply.

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Instructions: Please read the entire article linked above. This reading demonstrates the important of cottage industry or “proto-industrialization” in the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

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The Saylor Foundation does not yet have materials for this portion of the course. If you are interested in contributing your content to fill this gap or aware of a resource that could be used here, please submit it here.

Instructions: These readings cover the topics outlined in sub-subunits 9.3.1 and 9.3.2. Please read the entire article, “The Atlantic World Slave Economy and the Development Process in England” linked above. Then, please read the “Mercantilism” essay in its entirety. The first article will provide a good overview on the rise of Europe in the world economy during the eighteenth century. The second reading outlines the major components of the mercantilist trade policy in Europe.

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The Saylor Foundation does not yet have materials for this portion of the course. If you are interested in contributing your content to fill this gap or aware of a resource that could be used here, please submit it here.

Instructions: First, please read the encyclopedia article on “Adam Smith” for some background. Then, read Washington State University and the Modern History Sourcebook’s excerpts from the Wealth of Nations.

Perhaps the most influential book of the eighteenth century, Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, sharply criticizes the mercantilism—protective trade policies—that European imperial powers had embraced for over a century. Smith, a Scottish moral philosopher, advocates free trade as the most progressive and beneficial commercial policy of the modern era. In the first excerpt, he argues that if capital is allowed to travel freely, rather than being controlled by government or state-supported monopolies, then it will naturally travel to the most productive outlets; Smith calls this phenomenon the “invisible hand” of a free market economy. In the second excerpt, Smith describes how modern capitalism should work ideally and why this is good for society overall.

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Link: Western New England College: Professor Gerhard Rempel’s “The 18th Century Town and Its Inhabitants” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire webpage linked above. This reading offers a good comparative overview of European towns in the 1700s.

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The Enlightenment’s emphasis on political legitimacy and authority—as well as the perceived corruption of absolute monarchs—inspired several revolutions in the latter eighteenth century. In France and in America, many citizens began to question why the majority of a nation’s people were denied equal rights or liberty. In 1776 and 1789, respectively, the Americans and French revolted against the tyrannical and illegitimate authority of aristocrats in order to protect the sovereign rule of the people. In America, patriots replaced the British monarchy with a confederated republic. In France, revolutionaries abolished the constitutional monarchy in favor of a new republic. However, the French republic was short-lived—Napoleon proclaimed himself dictator of France in 1799.
In this unit, we will examine the emerging contest between the rule of the people and the rule of a few in the Euro-American world. This contest manifested itself in two different but related revolutions that had a lasting impact upon Europe.

Instructions: Please read the entire webpage linked above. In this reading, Professor Rempel argues that the French Revolution could not have occurred without the precedent of the American Revolution and its emphasis on equality of rights.

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The Saylor Foundation does not yet have materials for this portion of the course. If you are interested in contributing your content to fill this gap or aware of a resource that could be used here, please submit it here.

Instructions: Please read the entire article "Structure of Everyday Life in the Ancien Regime” linked above. Then, read Dr. Kreis’s lecture 11 in its entirety. The first reading, “Structure of Everyday Life in the Ancien Regime,” offers an overview of the conditions of life in the Ancien Regime and the reasons for the outbreak of revolution in 1789. Lecture 11 will give you a sense of the origins of the revolution in France.

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Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 17 minutes). The French Revolution began in May 1789 with the meeting of the Estates-General—a general assembly representing the three French estates of the realm: the nobility, the church, and the common people. Summoned by King Louis XVI to propose solutions to his government’s financial problems, the Estates-General sat for several weeks in May and June 1789 but came to an impasse as the three estates clashed over their respective powers. It was brought to an end when many members of the Third Estate formed themselves into a National Assembly, signaling the outbreak of the Revolution. On July 14 of that same year, the Bastille—amedieval fortress and prison which represented royal authority in the center of Paris—was stormed by a mob that demanded the arms and ammunition stored there.

Instructions: Please listen to the entire video lecture (1:01:12 minutes). This video lecture provides a good overview of the origins and major phases of the French Revolution. This video lecture covers topics outlined in sub-subunits 10.2.1-10.2.4.

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Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 15 minutes), which discusses the second stage of the French Revolution. After Louis XV and his wife tried to escape Paris in 1791, the French revolutionary wars began soon thereafter; however, fighting soon went badly and prices rose sky-high. In August 1792, a mob assaulted the Royal Palace in Paris and arrested the King. In September, the Assembly abolished the monarchy and declared a republic.

Lecture 12 discusses the reasons for the collapse of the aristocracy and monarchy and the outbreak of revolution. Presented before the French National Assembly in 1789, the Declaration of the Rights of Man was prepared and proposed by the Marquis de Lafayette, a French statesman and friend of Thomas Jefferson. The document, inspired by Enlightenment ideals, defines a single set of individual and collective rights for all men. In advocating universal equality and freedom, this treatise also calls for the destruction of the aristocracy in France.

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Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 23 minutes) on the “Reign of Terror,” a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, and marked by mass executions of “enemies of the revolution.” The death toll ranged in the tens of thousands, with 16,594 executed by guillotine and another 25,000 in summary executions across France.

Instructions: Please note that these readings cover topics outlined in sub-subunits 10.3.1-10.3.4. Please read Dr. Kreis’s entire lecture linked above. Then, please read “The Radical Revolution” article linked above. Lecture 13 describes the outbreak of the radical phase of the French Revolution, which included the Terror. “The Radical Revolution” will provide you with a sense of the second, more violent phase of the French Revolution.

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Note: This topic is covered by the web media below sub-subunit 10.3.1.

Instructions: Please read the entire lecture 14 linked above. Then, read the entire Modern History Sourcebook webpage, which is an excerpt of Burke’s Reflections.

Dr. Kreis’s lecture talks about England’s reaction to the French Revolution—which ranged from Edmund Burke’s conservatism to Thomas Paine’s radicalism.

The second reading linked here, Reflections, written by the British conservative MP Edmund Burke, is one of the most famous political treatises in European history. Burke offers a sharp critique of the French Revolution—for its violence and its abolition of the monarchy and aristocratic institutions. Burke fears that the radicalism of the French conflict constitutes a withdrawal from the European state system and a rejection of history. In contrast, Burke supports the American Revolution, because it does not involve the execution of a king, senseless bloodshed, or the destruction of long-standing political institutions.

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Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 17 minutes), which discusses the last stages of the French Revolution and how Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate. Napoleon rose to power under the French First Republic, which formed at the end of the French Revolution, proclaimed himself dictator, and eventually, emperor, under the First French Empire in 1804.

Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 13 minutes), which discusses Napoleon’s early military campaigns. The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon’s French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution, they revolutionized European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly owing to the application of modern mass conscription.

Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 22 minutes). The War of the Third Coalition spanned from 1803 to 1806. Under Napoleon I, it saw the defeat of an alliance of Austria, Portugal, Russia, and others by France and its client states.

Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 16 minutes). The Fourth Coalition against Napoleon’s French Empire was defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. Coalition partners included Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 20 minutes). The Peninsular War occurred between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula.

Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 17 minutes). The French invasion of Russia in 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe. As a result, the reputation of Napoleon as an undefeated military genius was severely shaken.

Instructions: Please watch the above video (approx. 16 minutes). In the War of the Sixth Coalition (1812–1814), a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, and a number of German States finally defeated France and drove Napoleon Bonaparte into exile, thereby restoring the French monarchy under Louis XVIII.

Instructions: Please watch the entire 45-minute video lecture linked above. This video lecture will help to give you a sense of reign of Napoleon—his impact upon France and Europe as a whole. This video lecture covers the topics in sub-subunits 10.3.1-10.3.3.

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Instructions: These readings cover the topics outlined in sub-subunits 10.3.1-10.3.3. Please read the entire lecture 15 linked above. Then, read “Napoleon and Romanticism” in its entirety. Lecture 15 will discuss the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, who established himself as dictator of France in 1799. The second reading, “Napoleon and Romanticism” will give you a sense of Napoleon’s reign and his conquest of Europe.

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Instructions: Please browse through the five webpages of digital images of political cartoons from the Napoleonic era. Click on the image in order to enlarge it. These cartoons offer an excellent window into French and English perceptions of Napoleon.

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